This year, the Earth Hour banner this year bears the phrase “60+”, which means its time to do more beyond the act that started it all – turning off the lights for an hour.
Many will dim lights from 8:30pm till 9:30pm on Saturday 31 March as will StarHub’s retail shops and Customer Service Centres around the island.
Their action beyond the hour is the launch of their electronic waste (e-waste) recycling programme: E-waste recycling bins will be placed at StarHub’s Customer Service Centres at
- OUB Centre, Level 5
- Plaza Singapura, Level B2
- Tampines Mall, Level 2
- StarHub Green, Level 3
- and the Grid MMS Office at *SCAPE Level 4
“About 50 million cell phones are replaced worldwide every month, and only 10% are recycled,” says StarHub CEO Neil Montefiore. “As a provider of electronic equipment and e-services, we feel that it is only right to provide consumers with an avenue through which they can safely and responsibly dispose of their electronic waste.”
Apparently, e-waste in the form of mobile phones, cable modems, laptops and lithium-ion batteries, accounts for more than 70% of toxic waste in landfills and this improper disposal leads to serious pollution and health problems.
This is a certainly a relief as I missed earlier initiatives and still have my first two Macintosh laptops with me. I did not want to toss them out as they would not be properly disposed which would be pollutive. In this programme, the e-waste collected will be recycled by TES-AMM, a local e-waste recycling company.
In light of WWF’s campaign “I Will If You Will” tagline, if consumers deposit 3,000kg of e-waste into the five bins between Earth Hour and Earth Day (22 April 2012), StarHub will plant 30 trees at a local park. Sweet!
“Recycling bins for paper, plastic and metal are commonplace nowadays, but it is very difficult to find bins in which the average consumer can recycle e-waste,” observed Mr Montefiore. “We’re hoping to provide such channels at easily accessible locations, and eventually inculcate a long-term habit for consumers, whether they are our customers or not, to recycle their e-waste with us.”
The list of recyclable items for StarHub E-Waste Recycling Bins include
- Hard Drives,
- Keyboards,
- Laptops,
- Li-ion Batteries,
- Mobile Phones,
- Modems.
See the full list at Zero Waste Singapore.
Otterman speaks... 
Hey dude, I’ve been trying to find those so-call e-recycling bins and they are not at Starhub OUB Center and Plaza Singapore like they publicised. What’s worse the staff at OUB Center was not helpful at all and told me to call their Customer Service Hotline instead. I am still stuck with my e-waste. Where can I deposit them for recycling? Help!
Try writing to:
Adam Reutens-Tan (for Corporate Sustainability & Responsibility)
Manager, Corporate Communications
DID: +65 6825 5117
Email: adam.reutenstan@starhub.com
BTW I wrote to Adam and he replied immediately to say, “The bins are placed at our Customer Service Centres, not our Retail Shops. Both OUB Centre and Plaza Singapura, as well as the location at Tampines Mall, have both a Customer Service Centre as well as a Retail Shop, so it is important to go to the right unit there. Please refer to the media release for the exact unit numbers. Thank you!”